BAFTA Guru

BAFTA Guru is BAFTA’s content hub for career starters packed full of inspirational videos, podcasts and interviews. Whether you’ve taken your first steps in the industry or are just starting out, you’ll find plenty here to motivate and help you along the way.

BAFTA Kids

BAFTA’s destination for youngsters to come and discover the magical worlds of film, television and games. Enter challenges, watch videos, and take part in our annual vote to decide the best film, TV show and game of the year.

BAFTA 195 Piccadilly

Situated in the heart of London's West End, BAFTA 195 Piccadilly is the home of BAFTA worldwide, as well as an award-winning venue for hire that offers outstanding hospitality and a suite of flexible event spaces, which can be crafted to suit any occasion.

The winners of this evening’s House of Fraser British Academy Television Awards, celebrating and rewarding the very best programmes and performances of 2015 have been announced.

There were two awards for Wolf Hall, with Mark Rylance receiving the BAFTA for Leading Actor, adding to his Supporting Actor win at the EE British Academy Film Awards earlier this year. The Peter Straughan-scripted drama, which chronicles the rise of Thomas Cromwell through Henry VIII’s royal court, also received the award for Drama Series.

In the Supporting Actress category, Chanel Cresswell received her first BAFTA for her performance in This Is England ’90. The Sheffield-set drama, which spans three series and a feature film, also received the award for Mini-Series, adding to the Director: Fiction BAFTA Shane Meadows won at the Television Craft Awards a fortnight ago.

Suranne Jones won the BAFTA for Leading Actress for her portrayal of a wife betrayed by her husband’s infidelity in Doctor Foster, while Tom Courtenay’s performance in Unforgotten earned him the award for Supporting Actor, his third BAFTA in total and 53 years since his first for Most Promising Newcomer.

Peter Kay raced to victory in the Male Performance in a Comedy Programme category for Peter Kay’s Car Share, which also picked up the BAFTA for Scripted Comedy. Michaela Coel added to her recent Television Craft Breakthrough Talent award with a BAFTA for Female Performance in a Comedy Programme for her starring role in Chewing Gum.

The award for Single Drama was presented to Don’t Take My Baby, which tells the story of a disabled couple’s desperate struggle to keep their newborn child.

In the International category, the BAFTA was awarded to Amazon Studios’ Transparent, which follows a family in Los Angeles who discover that their retired father is a transgender woman. The series’ lead actor, Jeffrey Tambor, collected the award.

The BAFTA for Entertainment Performance was presented to Leigh Francis for Celebrity Juice, while the award for Comedy and Comedy Entertainment Programme went to Have I Got News For You, now in its 51st series.

It was dinner, dessert and a dance in the Reality & Constructed Factual, Features and Entertainment Programme categories, with First Dates, The Great British Bake Off and Strictly Come Dancing all receiving BAFTAs.

The BAFTA for Soap and Continuing Drama, which recognises the exceptional talent required to deliver stories that hold an audience over days, weeks and months, was awarded to EastEnders for the ninth time.

The award for News Coverage went to Channel 4 News: Paris Massacre, while Outbreak: The Truth About Ebola (This World) received the BAFTA for Current Affairs.

My Son the Jihadi, which documents a woman grappling with the knowledge that her son has left the UK to join an Islamist terror group in Somalia, received the BAFTA for Single Documentary. In Factual Series, Dave Nath added to his Director: Factual BAFTA from a fortnight ago at the Television Craft Awards with a win alongside his co-nominees for The Murder Detectives, while the BAFTA for Specialist Factual went to Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners.

The Ashes hit its competition for six to take home the BAFTA for Sport, while the award for Live Event was presented to Big Blue Live for its week-long coverage of the aquatic life of Monterey Bay.

The Special Award in Honour of Alan Clarke was presented to Lenny Henry, one of Britain’s best-loved comedians and writers, in recognition of his outstanding creative contribution to television during a career that has so far spanned 40 years. Revered for his writing and performance, and charity work, Henry’s credits have included Tiswas, Three of A Kind, Lenny Henry in Pieces and The Lenny Henry Show, as well as co-founding Comic Relief, which to-date has raised over £1 billion.

The Fellowship, the highest accolade the Academy bestows, was presented to Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the writing duo responsible for creating some of the most iconic comedy characters and programmes to grace British screens, with credits including Hancock’s Half-Hour, and Steptoe and Son which ran for 12 years from 1963-1974.

The Radio Times Audience Award, the only award voted for by the public, was won by Poldark.

Red carpet highlights, backstage interviews with all the winners, clips of the nominated programmes and all the latest images from the night’s events are available at www.bafta.org/awards/television.

Last Sunday, as part of BAFTA’s year-round programme of events and initiatives that support the television industry, a number of BAFTA winners and nominees discussed their craft and career progression with aspiring creatives at BAFTA’s inaugural Guru Live festival for career starters. The event was an extension of BAFTA Guru, BAFTA’s online resource that shares advice and inspiration from the best creative minds working in film, television and games.

Supporting documents and media

Visit www.bafta.org/press/television for all supporting documents including the list of today’s winners, with free photography and video clips, logos, accreditation and more.

Further information

About BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes – in the UK, USA and Asia; it offers unique access to the world’s most inspiring talent and connects with a global audience of all ages and backgrounds. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. To access the best creative minds in film, television and games production, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.